Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or CFS, is an innocuous name given to a debilitating disease. Its seriousness is better indicated by the term Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), a label preferred by many of its victims. On May 17-18, the Department of Health and Human Services hosted the biannual public meeting of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee by webinar. This was a fitting time for such a meeting, as May is International ME/CFS Awareness Month.

The trigger for CFS/ME is not known. The lack of research on the disease means there is no truly effective and widely available therapy that would allow the more seriously ill victims to lead meaningful lives free of pain and incapacitating fatigue.

The disease often appears to strike at random. It’s impossible for any of us to know how to protect ourselves from the illness...

wow, im in awe of how good that article is. i hope some can write and thank them for it.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) spending for research on the illness has ranged from a mere $5 to 6 million a year, compared to $98 million for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), or $3000 million for HIV/AIDS. Other topics that receive similarly low funding of less than $10 million a year are a number of rare diseases, but this disease isn’t rare. Estimates suggest the disease in the US is more prevalent than MS and likely as prevalent as HIV infection. Such low funding ensures that progress is very slow. Yet, the disease continues to claim new victims daily.

"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or CFS, is an innocuous name given to a debilitating disease. Its seriousness is better indicated by the term Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), a label preferred by many of its victims."